Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 review – A Portable Powerhouse with a Few Caveats

The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 is a sleek-looking light machine that has a slightly dated Intel Alder Lake U-series CPU under the bonnet. In reality, that's not an issue since the 10-core chip packs enough performance for regular tasks. Of course, if you are a power user, perhaps a 15W chip isn't exactly your cup of tea. Since that's a compact laptop, the upgradability, and the port selection are limited. Still, compared to the Apple devices, here you get an M.2 slot and regular Type-A and Type-C ports which are compatible with the majority of the peripherals out there. The 12.4-inch PixelSense touch display offers a 3:2 aspect ratio. This kind of tall screen is suitable for Web browsing or working with MS Office documents because of the extra added vertical pixels. Don't expect miracles here, this is a 60Hz panel but content such as text or pictures looks crisp on it so we can call it a day. This laptop offers Wi-Fi 6 + Bluetooth 5.1 for connectivity and it also brings goodies to the table such as fast charging and a firmware TPM 2.0 for encryption. You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/microsoft-surface-laptop-go-3/ Specs, Drivers, What's in the box What's in the box? The device is fitted in a small yet sturdy glossy box. Inside, you'll find the machine itself, a bit of paperwork, and a 39W charger with the magnetic Surface Connect plug. Drivers All drivers and utilities for this notebook can be found here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=105608 Design and construction The look of the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 kind of reminds us of some Apple Air machines. The design is simplistic and clean with a small MS logo on the center of the lid. The latter is made of aluminum and has an anodized finish that doesn't attract a lot of fingerprints. The material for the base is a mixture of metal, polycarbonate, and glass fiber. The dimensions are pretty good - just a 15.7 mm profile thickness. The notebook stops the scales at 1.13 kilos. The rubber feet on the base provide a good amount of grip and the device isn't sliding around on the desk when you want to open the lid with a single hand. The unit is also stable thanks to the Gorilla Glass 3 protection that fully covers the screen. The base rigidity is also good. We observed a bit of flex between the touchpad and the Space key but that's not an issue during typing. The bezels that surround the 3:2 display are on the thin side except for the "chin". Above the panel is placed a dual-mic 720p Web camera. The Omnisonic speakers are hidden below the keyboard that lack a backlight. The board itself has big keycaps with generous space between them. If you take a close look at the chassis, you'll spot that the keys sit a bit higher than the deck. This results in a surprisingly long key travel, the feedback is also pleasantly clicky. The power button doubles as a fingerprint reader. The touchpad could be bigger but that's its only con. The pad surface feels rubberized to the touch, and the smoothness and accuracy during work are spot on. The bottom panel houses two long rubber feet. The heat is guided via a vent on the back of the laptop that aims at the hinge cover below the panel. The lower part of the display feels a bit warm during max CPU loads. Ports On the left, there is a USB Type-A 3.1 (Gen. 1) port, a USB Type-C 3.2 (Gen. 2) port with DisplayPort and charging capabilities, and an Audio jack. On the right, you can see the Surface Connect port for charging or Surface Dock 2 if you want to plug in more external displays. Display quality, Health impact (PWM), Sound Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 is equipped with a 60Hz 10-point multi-touch panel, model number LG Display LP125WX172403 (LGD0555). The glossy display has a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. Its diagonal is 12.4 inches (31.5 cm), and the resolution - 1536 x 1024p. Additionally, the screen ratio is 3:2, the pixel density – 149 ppi, and their pitch – 0.17 х 0.17 mm. The screen can be considered Retina when viewed from at least 59 cm (from this distance, the average human eye can’t see the individual pixels). Viewing angles are comfortable. We offer images at different angles to evaluate the quality. Also, a video with locked focus and exposure. The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 display offers two factory color profiles - "sRGB" and "Enhanced". The data we show is with the sRGB factory profile turned on. The maximum measured brightness is 322 nits (cd/m2) in the middle of the screen and 314 nits (cd/m2) average across the surface with a maximum deviation of 6%. The Correlated Color Temperature on a white screen and at maximum brightness is 6550K. In the illustration below you can see how the display performs from a uniformity perspective. The illustration below shows how matters are for operational brightness levels (approximately 140 nits) – in this particular case at 68% Brightness (White level = 140 cd/m2, Black level = 0.14 cd/m2). Values of dE2000 over 4.0 should not occur, and this parameter is one of the first you should check if you intend to use the laptop for color-sensitive work (a maximum tolerance of 2.0 ). The contrast ratio is good – 1010:1. To make sure we are on the same page, we would like to give you a little introduction to the sRGB color gamut and the Adobe RGB. To start, there’s the CIE 1976 Uniform Chromaticity Diagram that represents the visible specter of colors by the human eye, giving you a better perception of the color gamut coverage and the color accuracy. Inside the black triangle, you will see the standard color gamut (sRGB) that is being used by millions of people on HDTV and on the web. As for the Adobe RGB, this is used in professional cameras, monitors, etc for printing. Basically, colors inside the black triangle are used by everyone and this is the essential part of the color quality and color accuracy of a mainstream notebook. Still, we’ve included other color spaces like the famous DCI-P3 standard used by movie studios, as well as the digital UHD Rec.2020 standard. Rec.2020, however, is still a thing of the future and it’s difficult for today’s displays to cover that well. We’ve also included the so-called Michael Pointer gamut, or Pointer’s gamut, which represents the colors that naturally occur around us every day. The yellow dotted line shows Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3's color gamut coverage. Its display covers 92% of the sRGB/ITU-R BT.709 (web/HDTV standard) in CIE1976 and 71% of DCI-P3. Our “Design and Gaming” profile delivers optimal color temperature (6500K) at 140 cd/m2 luminance and sRGB gamma mode. We tested the accuracy of the display with 24 commonly used colors like light and dark human skin, blue sky, green grass, orange, etc. You can check out the results at factory condition and also, with the “Design and Gaming” profile. Below you can compare the scores of Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 with the default settings (Display mode – sRGB), and with the “Gaming and Web design” profile (right). The next figure shows how well the display is able to reproduce really dark parts of an image, which is essential when watching movies or playing games in low ambient light. The left side of the image represents the display with stock settings, while the right one is with the “Gaming and Web Design” profile activated. On the horizontal axis, you will find the grayscale, and on the vertical axis – the luminance of the display. On the two graphs below you can easily check for yourself how your display handles the darkest nuances but keep in mind that this also depends on the settings of your current display, the calibration, the viewing angle, and the surrounding light conditions. The default settings are excellent. Response time (Gaming capabilities) We test the reaction time of the pixels with the usual “black-to-white” and “white-to-black” method from 10% to 90% and vice versa. We recorded Fall Time + Rise Time = 29 ms. Health impact - PWM / Blue Light PWM (Screen flickering) Pulse-width modulation (PWM) is an easy way to control monitor brightness. When you lower the brightness, the light intensity of the backlight is not lowered, but instead turned off and on by the electronics with a frequency indistinguishable to the human eye. In these light impulses, the light/no-light time ratio varies, while brightness remains unchanged, which is harmful to your eyes. You can read more about that in our dedicated article on PWM. Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3's display doesn’t flicker at any brightness level. This makes the screen pretty comfortable for long periods of use. Blue light emissions Installing our Health-Guard profile not only eliminates PWM but also reduces the harmful Blue Light emissions while keeping the colors of the screen perceptually accurate. If you’re not familiar with the Blue light, the TL;DR version is – emissions that negatively affect your eyes, skin, and your whole body. You can find more information about that in our dedicated article on Blue Light. Gloss level measurement Glossy-coated displays are sometimes inconvenient in high ambient light conditions. We show the level of reflection on the screen for the respective laptop when the display is turned off and the measurement angle is 60° (in this case, the result is 111 GU). Sound Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3's speakers produce a sound of relatively good quality. However, the low, mid, and high tones all have some slight deviations from clarity. Buy our profiles Since our profiles are tailored for each individual display model, this article and its respective profile package are meant for Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 configurations with 12.4" LG Display LP125WX172403 (LGD0555) (1536 x 1024p) PixelSense panel. *Should you have problems with downloading the purchased file, try using a different browser to open the link you’ll receive via e-mail. If the download target is a .php file instead of an archive, change the file extension to .zip or contact us at bg.laptopmedia@gmail.com. Read more about the profiles HERE. Performance: CPU, GPU, Gaming Tests All benchmarks and tests were conducted with the “Best performance” preset activated in the Windows “Power & Battery” menu. CPU options The Intel Core i5-1235U is the only CPU option. GPU options You can rely on the Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 (80EU) for graphics tasks. Gaming tests DOTA 2 HD 1080p, Low (Check settings) HD 1080p, Normal (Check settings) HD 1080p, High (Check settings) Average FPS 90 fps 85 fps 40 fps [eBook Guide + Tools] How to MAX OUT your Laptop Temperatures and comfort, Battery life Max CPU load In this test we use 100% on the CPU cores, monitoring their frequencies and chip temperature. The first column shows a computer’s reaction to a short load (2-10 seconds), the second column simulates a serious task (between 15 and 30 seconds), and the third column is a good indicator of how good the laptop is for long loads such as video rendering. Average P-core frequency; Average E-core frequency; CPU temp.; Package Power Intel Core i5-1235U (15W TDP) 0:02 - 0:10 sec 0:15 - 0:30 sec 10:00 - 15:00 min Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 1.87 GHz @ 1.37 GHz @ 72°C @ 16W 2.47 GHz @ 1.87 GHz @ 82°C @ 25W 1.78 GHz @ 1.30 GHz @ 69°C @ 15W Lenovo ThinkBook 15 Gen 4 2.55 GHz @ 2.32 GHz @ 60°C @ 32W 2.51 GHz @ 2.30 GHz @ 66°C @ 32W 2.40 GHz @ 2.20 GHz @ 65°C @ 28W ASUS Vivobook 15 OLED (X1505) 3.22 GHz @ 2.48 GHz @ 77°C @ 39W 2.76 GHz @ 2.29 GHz @ 78°C @ 32W 2.23 GHz @ 2.09 GHz @ 72°C @ 25W ASUS Vivobook 16 (X1605) 2.76 GHz @ 2.59 GHz @ 71°C @ 39W 2.72 GHz @ 2.57 GHz @ 79°C @ 38W 2.06 GHz @ 2.22 GHz @ 68°C @ 25W Lenovo ThinkPad L13 Yoga Gen 3 1.88 GHz @ 1.97 GHz @ 61°C @ 20W 1.86 GHz @ 1.96 GHz @ 68°C @ 20W 2.20 GHz @ 2.20 GHz @ 88°C @ 25W Dell Latitude 15 5530 3.57 GHz @ 3.02 GHz @ 94°C @ 52W 2.03 GHz @ 2.09 GHz @ 76°C @ 21W 2.24 GHz @ 2.19 GHz @ 64°C @ 23W Lenovo IdeaPad 5 (15", 2022) 3.60 GHz @ 3.08 GHz @ 73°C @ 55W 3.44 GHz @ 2.95 GHz @ 88°C @ 51W 2.80 GHz @ 2.49 GHz @ 69°C @ 35W Dell Latitude 15 3530 2.97 GHz @ 2.60 GHz @ 87°C @ 34W 2.64 GHz @ 2.43 GHz @ 88°C @ 30W 2.37 GHz @ 2.29 GHz @ 80°C @ 25W HP 470 G9 1.43 GHz @ 1.39 GHz @ 54°C @ 15W 1.43 GHz @ 1.39 GHz @ 57°C @ 15W 1.44 GHz @ 1.39 GHz @ 64°C @ 15W ASUS ExpertBook B1 (B1502) 2.54 GHz @ 2.28 GHz @ 58°C @ 28W 2.59 GHz @ 2.29 GHz @ 67°C @ 28W 1.99 GHz @ 1.98 GHz @ 64°C @ 21W Lenovo ThinkBook 14 Gen 4 2.55 GHz @ 2.33 GHz @ 64°C @ 33W 2.45 GHz @ 2.31 GHz @ 71°C @ 32W 2.32 GHz @ 2.19 GHz @ 67°C @ 28W Acer Aspire 3 (A315-59) 3.07 GHz @ 2.76 GHz @ 64°C @ 45W 2.84 GHz @ 2.61 GHz @ 73°C @ 40W 2.37 GHz @ 2.29 GHz @ 70°C @ 28W ASUS Vivobook 17 (X1702) 3.21 GHz @ 2.68 GHz @ 68°C @ 39W 2.86 GHz @ 2.53 GHz @ 72°C @ 33W 2.15 GHz @ 2.22 GHz @ 61°C @ 24W Lenovo ThinkPad L15 Gen 3 3.25 GHz @ 2.69 GHz @ 88°C @ 44W 3.05 GHz @ 2.64 GHz @ 95°C @ 41W 1.98 GHz @ 1.92 GHz @ 70°C @ 20W Fujitsu LifeBook U7512 3.00 GHz @ 2.54 GHz @ 88°C @ 40W 2.40 GHz @ 2.14 GHz @ 85°C @ 28W 2.31 GHz @ 2.07 GHz @ 83°C @ 26W HP ProBook 450 G9 3.44 GHz @ 2.82 GHz @ 80°C @ 47W 2.45 GHz @ 2.14 GHz @ 74°C @ 26W 2.33 GHz @ 2.09 GHz @ 73°C @ 24W HP ProBook 440 G9 3.25 GHz @ 2.74 GHz @ 79°C @ 46W 2.49 GHz @ 2.23 GHz @ 87°C @ 30W 2.20 GHz @ 2.08 GHz @ 73°C @ 24W Lenovo ThinkBook 14s Yoga Gen 2 2.55 GHz @ 2.39 GHz @ 70°C @ 32W 2.49 GHz @ 2.38 GHz @ 75°C @ 32W 2.20 GHz @ 2.10 GHz @ 71°C @ 24W Microsoft Surface Pro 9 3.32 GHz @ 2.78 GHz @ 75°C @ 46W 3.06 GHz @ 2.54 GHz @ 82°C @ 42W 1.91 GHz @ 1.79 GHz @ 64°C @ 19W Microsoft Surface Laptop 5 (13.5") 3.35 GHz @ 2.84 GHz @ 69°C @ 44W 3.27 GHz @ 2.78 GHz @ 80°C @ 42W 2.24 GHz @ 2.17 GHz @ 71°C @ 22W ASUS Vivobook 15 (X1502) 2.91 GHz @ 2.49 GHz @ 78°C @ 39W 2.62 GHz @ 2.37 GHz @ 81°C @ 33W 2.30 GHz @ 2.19 GHz @ 68°C @ 27W Acer TravelMate P2 (TMP215-54) 3.67 GHz @ 3.09 GHz @ 90°C @ 55W 2.83 GHz @ 2.55 GHz @ 85°C @ 33W 2.59 GHz @ 2.44 GHz @ 84°C @ 28W HP EliteBook 650 G9 3.26 GHz @ 2.80 GHz @ 89°C @ 45W 2.63 GHz @ 2.39 GHz @ 91°C @ 32W 2.25 GHz @ 2.15 GHz @ 79°C @ 24W HP EliteBook 640 G9 3.27 GHz @ 2.77 GHz @ 90°C @ 45W 2.53 GHz @ 2.32 GHz @ 90°C @ 30W 2.32 GHz @ 2.17 GHz @ 74°C @ 24W HP EliteBook 840 G9 3.09 GHz @ 2.75 GHz @ 83°C @ 46W 2.73 GHz @ 2.46 GHz @ 89°C @ 37W 1.58 GHz @ 1.67 GHz @ 61°C @ 17W Lenovo ThinkPad E14 Gen 4 3.28 GHz @ 2.77 GHz @ 84°C @ 44W 3.18 GHz @ 2.77 GHz @ 90°C @ 44W 2.49 GHz @ 2.28 GHz @ 77°C @ 28W HP Pavilion Plus 14 (14-eh0000) 2.85 GHz @ 2.43 GHz @ 77°C @ 39W 2.34 GHz @ 2.10 GHz @ 75°C @ 29W 1.84 GHz @ 1.79 GHz @ 65°C @ 20W Lenovo IdeaPad 5 (15", 2022) 3.60 GHz @ 3.08 GHz @ 73°C @ 55W 3.44 GHz @ 2.95 GHz @ 88°C @ 51W 2.80 GHz @ 2.49 GHz @ 69°C @ 35W Lenovo ThinkPad L14 Gen 3 3.20 GHz @ 2.77 GHz @ 83°C @ 44W 3.10 GHz @ 2.71 GHz @ 94°C @ 43W 1.89 GHz @ 1.95 GHz @ 72°C @ 20W Acer Aspire Vero (AV14-51) 3.63 GHz @ 2.87 GHz @ 84°C @ 55W 2.73 GHz @ 2.36 GHz @ 81°C @ 33W 2.49 GHz @ 2.23 GHz @ 79°C @ 28W MSI Modern 14 (C12M) 3.17 GHz @ 2.69 GHz @ 77°C @ 45W 3.10 GHz @ 2.61 GHz @ 81°C @ 45W 2.69 GHz @ 2.45 GHz @ 78°C @ 35W Dell Latitude 15 5530 3.57 GHz @ 3.02 GHz @ 94°C @ 52W 2.03 GHz @ 2.09 GHz @ 76°C @ 21W 2.24 GHz @ 2.19 GHz @ 64°C @ 23W The Core i5-1235U inside this Microsoft device can maintain surprisingly low clocks in short loads which isn't a surprise since the fan is dead silent. In medium load, when the fan becomes slightly audible, the frequencies are adequate. In the long run, the P and E core clocks are low but yet higher than the official minimums. Comfort during full load During 100% CPU loads, the left and the central part of the keyboard feel averagely hot to the touch but you can use the device comfortably for work. At the same time, you can hear the fan but the noise isn't too loud at all. Battery Now, we conduct the battery tests with the Windows Better performance setting turned on, screen brightness adjusted to 120 nits, and all other programs turned off except for the one we are testing the notebook with. The notebook's 41Wh battery lasts for around 9 hours of Web browsing, or 8 hours of video playback. Storage performance Our device is equipped with a 256GB Samsung MZ9L4256HCJQ-00BMV. It looks like the NVMe speeds are limited to the Gen 3 standard. Below you can see some benchmarks of this SSD that reach 65°C during benchmarking. Verdict The Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 is a good choice for people who travel a lot and need a compact and light machine for regular tasks. The device should fit with ease in most backpacks and the good chassis rigidity is a nice bonus. The gadget isn't a powerhouse but the overall performance of the Core i5-1235U is more than enough for normal work. The comfort under max system load is good. The fan isn't noisy and the keyboard doesn't feel scorching hot to the touch. Speaking of which, the board is suitable for long hours of typing because of the long key travel and the clicky feedback. The port selection is limited which means that most users are forced to buy a USB splitter or a dock station for connecting more peripheral devices such as USB flash drives or external HDDs. The upgradability is almost non-existent. You get 8GB or 16GB LPDDR5-5200MHz of soldered memory but on the bright side, the SSD is removable (but it's also restricted to Gen 3 speeds). The 3:2 panel (LG Display LP125WX172403 (LGD0555)) is PWM-free which is good news for people who plan to use this machine for prolonged periods of work. The screen also boasts a 92% sRGB coverage and the color-accuracy can be enhanced to an average dE score of 1.1 with the aid of our "Design and Gaming" profile which is a pretty good improvement compared to the default 2.7 out-of-the-box result. Websites or text documents look sharp on the display but 1536 x 1024 resolution could be a bit too low for users who prefer high ppi panels. The modest 41Wh battery has enough juice for more than 9 hours of Web browsing on a single charge. Overall, the Microsoft Surface Laptop Go 3 is a compact machine that offers enough power for daily tasks. People who are constantly on the go should appreciate the low weight of this small sturdy gadget. You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/microsoft-surface-laptop-go-3/